State, local and federal government agencies or their authorized agents are responsible for collecting, storing, and authenticating vital record events including birth, adoption, marriage, divorce and death and subsequently providing certified copies of such information to external parties who then rely on such printed information certified to be a true copy or extract of original life documents to authorize services and benefits to individuals. Authenticated, certified documents and extracts of information printed on certified copies was historically provided and certified as authentic by combining a corporate seal on a document with various types of watermark, barcodes or other supposed anti counterfeit paper printing processes designed to circumvent third parties from printing documents which could be perceived as authentic when such legal documents are presented as the basis for granting services or benefits to an individual.
RFID tags can be used to create and associate a digital Electronic Document Code which can uniquely identify and authenticate a specific document; said Electronic Document Code can be factory embedded during a paper printing process and/or created at print time by an authorized legal entity or its agents and attached to the printed paper, or a use a combination of factory and print processes. The Electronic Document Code creates a unique key each instance a life event or other authentic document is created and enables the use of the unique digital Electronic Document Code as a new anti counterfeit process. Said RFID tag can be included with certified documents or other authentic documents and be used to validate a document and/or the data in the document is authentic when a request for services, benefits, or monetary payment authorized by the document is made. The Electronic Document Code is embedded in a memory chip contained within a smart tag on individual documents. The chip can be scanned by a radio frequency “reader,” which transmits the document's embedded identity code to a network, where “real” information about the document can be kept. That information is then communicated back from the network to provide whatever information is needed about that product to the requestor. The information stored within the RFID tag or accessed on the network can identify what entity printed the document. Each RFID tag can include a unique serial number which can identify a particular instance an authenticating agency printed a document and the data related to a particular instance of a printed document. Such related data can provide the same rights and privileges to an authentic document as a raised corporate seal or bar code does. Said digital Electronic Document Code can refer to information on the network or information stored and read within the RFID to identify who created the document and what data is related to the authentic document. Third parties can develop business processes utilizing the Electronic Document Code to validate the document and data on the document is authentic before granting services, benefits, or monetary payments to individuals presenting the documents as authentic. The digital Electronic Document Code can include a code identifying the issuer of the document, a document type, a data, and a unique serial number. When combined, these parts of the Electronic Document Code uniquely identify a particular document. Said Electronic Document Code can enable other business processes to manage and access data related to the document which may not be printed on the document or stored in the RFID tag but is available in electronic form referred and linkable in a remote database. RFID is the basis for current digital Electronic Document Codes. The RFID tag may be read only, or may utilize other tags with read-write functionality or even more advanced capabilities. Implementation of Electronic Document Codes does not depend on RFID technology; any way of being able to quickly and easily read a unique digital ID from a document will work.
The present invention relates to new methods useful to an authenticating agency or its representatives to eliminate counterfeiting of life event documents or other legal documents by associating a unique embedded intelligent Electronic Document Code with a printed document. The issuer of authentic documents can now attach hidden digital personal identity information to a printed document enabling third parties to use automated processes to authenticate and validate the authenticity of the document and an option to authenticate the individual who owns the document. Such processes are especially useful when individuals request third parties to make monetary payments or provide services based on data printed on a document. In some instances, the business processes may not require data to be printed on the physical document; the RFID tag can link to data stored on the network and available for processing by the third party.
The present invention also provides new methods useful to an authenticating agency or its representatives to collect, add maintain, store, associate, certify, authenticate and distribute digital identity data such as DNA, or other biometric information as hidden identity data within the RFID tag which can subsequently be read and verified in transactions to verify the individual representing ownership of the document is the rightful owner.
For instance, in one instance of the invention, the state Vital Records department may collect, store and subsequently certify the DNA or other biometric data collected and stored as part of each individual birth or death registration process and distribute such certified identity data as hidden data stored in the RFID on a certified birth or death certificate. The identity data certified by the authenticating agency can be made available in related transactions whereby a vital records document is used as proof of identity for benefits and services, i.e., insurance benefits, a drivers' license or a passport.
The present invention more particularly relates to the use of RFID tags by a trusted authenticating agent to create and embed a unique digital Electronic Document Code on documents which can be used by third parties as a means to authenticate the document and data related to the document. In particular, the present invention covers the use of RFID tags by authenticating agents to uniquely identify each instance of a document creation and enable third parties to reference such Electronic Document Code to validate such document and related document data as authentic, whether such data is printed on the document or available on a network. Such invention is particularly useful for authenticating agencies to eliminate counterfeiting of documents such as (1) birth and death registration processes which collect and certify personal identity, (2) other legal documents such as marriage, divorce records, and adoption records, and (3) other monetary payment documents subject to counterfeiting such as payroll checks or certified checks; and is especially useful for third parties who provide benefits, monetary payments and services to individuals who request services, monetary payment or benefits based upon data printed on the document. Such third parties can now authenticate the document is not a counterfeit document before authorizing a benefit, service or monetary payment. All parties can associate related data on the network or stored in the RFID tag with the intelligent digital Electronic Document Code.
In addition, the present invention utilizes the intelligent digital Electronic Document Code associated and attached with a life event document to provide a means of linking subsequent or prior life event data records with prior life event records. For instance, the recording and authentication of a subsequent life event such as marriage or divorce may optionally automatically identify and notify the authenticating agent who created the original birth record of a name change and to associate and link such name change with the original document and data stored on the network or in the RFID tag by developing automated business processes made available by an embedded intelligent unique document code stored on the document or a network. In an alternative embodiment, if the maiden name of an individual identified as related to an Electronic Document Code document like a birth certificate is changed when an individual is married, the recording of the marriage event and printed on a marriage license containing an RFID smart tag can link and associate the old name on the birth certificate with the new name on the marriage license. In addition, the death of an individual recorded and authenticated by a state or local government agency may automatically link to the original birth record using the RFID tag embedded with the Birth Certificate and data stored in the RFID tag or on the network.
The invention covers the use of RFID tags to create a unique digital intelligent Electronic Document Code which can identify the authenticating agency who issued the document, a document type, and a unique serial number which are combined together to create a unique Electronic Document Code for every instance a document is printed. Third parties can build automated business processes to validate and authenticate the document, or data authorized by the document is not counterfeit. In some instances, the data related to the Electronic Document Code can establish business processes whereby a document can be presented for services for only one time, or a specified number of times. Automated business processes would enable third parties requested to provide services, benefits or monetary payment to know such service has been provided, enabling such third party to not provide requested services.
The invention covers an ability to validate that a life event document is authentic and/or validate that all of some of the data contained in a life event document or record is authentic.
The integration of radio frequency identification (“RFID”) circuit tags as an intelligent digital electronic document code enabling the tracking and authentication of hard copy documents and data related to the documents is a convergence of technologies that is often useful for authenticating agents in managing document identification and deterring counterfeit or other unauthorized copies of certified or other legal documents.
The Electronic Document Code may identity and provides automated links to the original records used to create the document and can also be used as a unique key for associating other data and transactions related to each document.
The ability to associate individual identity data as part of the RFID tag attached to the document also enables authenticating agents to include access to such identity data stored as hidden data on the RFID tag or on the network and enable third parties processing such documents to utilize such identity data to authenticate the owner of the document.
As one example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,463,416 discloses an authentication system for identification documents. However, the prior art does not anticipate or suggest an original storing of an intelligent Electronic Document Code with the documents that can be used to identify which trusted authenticating agency created the document and the data on the document, or develop automated processes which utilize the Electronic Document Code as a way of authenticating the document and related data. Further, the process does not vision the birth registration process to include and authenticate unique identity data such as DNA or biometrics as part of the birth registration record, which may be subsequently associated with the birth registration record through the RFID tag as either hidden data stored in the tag or on the network. Such digital identity data may be used by the individual to validate they are who they say they are in subsequent business transactions. Further, the process does not envision the use of a unique EPC code on a document to facilitate the development of business processes which can use the EPC code to validate the authenticity of the document and associate data related with the documents, i.e., update identify information with subsequent transactions recording of life events which impact such identity information, or find out if the authenticated information provided by the authenticating agency has been revoked. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 6,463,416 neither anticipates nor suggests employing an Electronic Document Code back to an EDC database for validation and authentication of documents and data. A search of known patents covering RFID show none relevant to the development of a unique intelligent Electronic Document Code which can be used to eliminate the counterfeiting of life event documents such as birth certificates, death certificates, marriage licenses or divorce or the use of adding and authenticating digital identity data with the birth registration record which can be embedded and hidden within the Electronic Document Code for third party transactions which can authenticate the owner of the document when applying for services, benefits or monetary payments.
For instance, United States Patent Application Serial Number 2001/0048756 (“application 8756”) discusses the use of DNA as a means of identifying newborns and using such information to verify the relationship of the mother and the child and as a means for future identification of a child. However, application 8756 does not include nor anticipate the association and authentication of the DNA with the individual birth registration process and the subsequent distribution of such authenticated identity data by a state or local registrar when printing a certified copy of a birth record uniquely identified with the RFID tag embedded on the birth certificate document.
United States Patent Application Serial Number 2002/005744, entitled RFID Tag for Authentication and Identification, neither discloses nor anticipates the use of the RFID tag to presenting rights similar to a corporate seal whereas certain alternate preferred embodiments of the method of the present invention provides a structure of an RFID tag that can identify authenticating agency that (1) created the corporate seal and/or (2) attests the data on the document is authentic. Furthermore, United States Patent Application Serial Number 2002/005744 (“application 5744”) does not envision the use of an Electronic Document Code, as comprised within certain alternate preferred embodiments of the method of the present invention, for third parties to access related data on a network and to associate other transactions to a document based upon or in reference to an Electronic Document Code corresponding to the document. Nor does application 5744 refer to the ability of the authenticating agency to include “hidden” personal identity data as part of the RFID tag to be used a means to assure the bearer of a certified document is the owner of the document, as is included within certain alternate preferred embodiments of the method of the present invention. Application 5744 purports to authenticate the recipient of a document, but does not disclose nor anticipate any processes whereby the RFID tag may be used to authenticate the entity that created the document and a means to authenticate the document is not a counterfeit document, as is included within certain still alternate preferred embodiments of the method of the present invention.
The existing federal standards defined for states to collect and store birth, death and other vital record events do not reference the recording and storing of unique identity data such as DNA or biometrics with authenticated birth records which can subsequently be provided as authenticated information about an individual by the state or local government agency preserving such birth records.
No processes are known adapting the use of intelligent RFID tags as an Electronic Document Code for the purpose of uniquely identifying an instance of a legal document and the authenticating entity who issued the document. No known processes are known where authenticating agencies embed or attach RFID tags uniquely identifying a document and the data in the document whereby such unique electronic document code enables third parties to validate the document is authentic and the data referenced on the document is authentic. No known processes exist which enable third parties to utilize the RFID tag as a means of authenticating the document is not a counterfeit document. The invention utilizes the development of an Electronic Document Code schema to uniquely identify the entity creating the document, the unique instance of each document, the data related to each unique instance of a document, and a process uniting other parties involved in a document workflow when such third party automated processes utilize the Electronic Document Code stored in the tag to read, write and store data stored in the tag or available on a network. The net effect of the invention is to prevent counterfeit documents being used to request and receive benefits, services or monetary payments from third parties who can now validate the documents and the related data are authentic.
The existing standards for recording other life events records such as marriage or divorce do not include processes for using the intelligent Electronic Document Code included as part of the printing of a certified copy of a Birth Certificate to link and associate other events related to an individual such as marriage or death which can enable the owner of the life event data records to link and associate recordings of future life event with prior life events databases.
RFID circuit tags, also referred to herein as RFID circuits and RFID tags are presently manufactured and used to track a plethora of items and materials, from items of apparel to volumes of coal as stored by grade and quality. Alien Technology, mentioned as one exemplary manufacturer, provides a 915 MHz RFID tag with 64 bits of field programmable memory and 16 bits of CRC. Yet the prior art fails to suggest or anticipate the use of RFID tags as an intelligent Electronic Document Code for federal, state or local government to certify life event and other legal documents with a unique digital intelligent code or the ability for third parties to use an intelligent Electronic Document Code to be used to assure a document is not counterfeit. No such prior art is known where agencies responsible for collecting and storing birth registration records collect an authenticate DNA or other biometric data as part of an individual birth record and enables a birth document to include such digital identity data as hidden digital data using the intelligent attributes of RFID tags.
It is an object of the present invention to provide new business processes to store, collect, distribute, and maintain unique identity data such as DNA or other biometric information about an individuals as part of a life event record maintained and authenticated by a certifying agency or its agents. Such unique identity data can be made available as hidden data embedded in an RFID tag on life event documents such as birth certificates and used as a means to track and link other life event transactions.
The existing MIT Auto-ID center is developing processes and procedures for authenticating and tracking products using a unique product code available to third parties for use in supply chain management processes. The existing Electronic Product Code descriptions apply to products, not documents.